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Some people think this is discrimination against those who have a routine psychiatric disability; others think the current situation might make some people reluctant to seek help.

A man told a meeting recently he lost his driver's licence after a visit to the emergency department of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. He said his livelihood is threatened as a result.
(VINCE TALOTTA / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO)

Some 30 people came to a meeting of the Empowerment Council at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health a while ago. They walked to the meeting, or they used public transit; none of them drove. Why?

Because all of them have had their driver’s licences yanked, not because they are bad drivers. They are simply people who showed up at an emergency room or a clinic with, in the opinion of a doctor, a psychiatric condition that made them unsafe behind the wheel.

The condition could be nothing more than a moment of emotional distress, or a problem caused by imbalanced medications.

The real problem?

There are no measurable, no quantifiable, nor any standard guidelines for hospitals or doctors to follow. A doctor can simply make a snap decision and rat you out to the Ministry of Transportation, and the ministry will suspend your licence.

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The doctor — get this — does not even have to report a specific condition on the form. Worse is that the medical report is sealed, so that if you want to see what it says you have to file a Freedom of Information request.

The suspension of a licence in this manner is a summary judgment, and the process of appeal is complicated: You can ask for a review, if you have a hundred bucks. You can approach the Licence Appeal Tribunal. You can look to the ombudsman.

Or you can whistle Dixie.

There are no guarantees that you will get your licence back, and you cannot sue your doctor because it is not your doctor who yanks your licence.

I hate this, and you should, too, because a summary judgment is unfair when the process of appeal is slow.

And if you drive for a living, or if you need a car to get to work, or to buy food, then you are stuck without wheels.

Some people think this is discrimination against those who have a routine psychiatric disability; others think the current situation might make some people reluctant to seek help.

The people at the meeting listened to an overview of the situation from a couple of legal workers, and then there were questions, and comments.

One man said, “I lost my licence because of an emergency room visit. The doctor never informed me. I went to renew my licence and found out it was suspended.”

Another man lost his licence after a visit to the CAMH emergency department. He said his livelihood is threatened as a result, and no one even bothered to tell his family doctor, and his family doctor was shocked.

One fellow said, of his visit to an emergency room, “I was in relapse. My meds weren’t adjusted. Everything was going well until I brought my motorcycle helmet in.” His problem, now? “When I take the TTC I have panic attacks.” He has been housebound for three months.

An older fellow said, colourfully, “The doctors are all lawyered up. What’s a guy to do? I want some of these decision-makers discredited and thrown the hell out.”

A sentiment shared by many.

Another man said, “I had the same arbitrary experience. They can cherry-pick who they report. I was misdiagnosed. I haven’t been on any meds for 25 years.”

And finally a woman said, “The psychiatrist told me he needed to see me for six months. You have to be compliant; they think you have no insight.”

The insight of some people in the room is that some doctors at some hospitals are in it for the money; the fee for making one of these reports is $36.25. You may think that’s peanuts, but one report a day nets $9,000 a year.

A guy in the room said, “A lot of people are suffering in silence.” Not any more. There is at least one legal challenge in the works.

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